


flintlocked

by waterfront



Category: From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series
Genre: F/M, alternate 2x02, kate's in a black dress and seth is speechless, the sit down meal we all wanted to happen, they go to uncle eddie's together
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-07
Updated: 2016-12-07
Packaged: 2018-09-07 02:07:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8778931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/waterfront/pseuds/waterfront
Summary: Based on the post (and I'm paraphrasing): ‘au where seth doesn’t leave her and instead they both go to uncle eddie’s for help and end up having a sit down dinner with richie and kisa.’ (season 2)
Eddie was family and family was the only thing that could set them on the right course.





	

The tires squealed when he slammed on the breaks for a third time. His knuckles white around the wheel, he stared only forward, knowing whatever was jumbled in his mouth and head would only come out angry and hurtful because that was the way Seth Gecko expressed panic.

She stepped forward, towards the open window of the idling car, mouth slightly agape. Shocked.

        “I didn’t think you’d kick me out. I just wanted a minute— I felt like I couldn’t breathe—,”

        “I know.” He could be trusted with two words. But it had been two words that had nearly sent her away for good. “I didn’t mean it. What I said.”

He finally looked at her. The dried blood looked black on her pale face. Everything about her was soft, curved, except for her eyes. Little slits of flint in her skull. She absolutely believed him when he looked at her, mouthful of venom, and told her to get out.

        “Would you just get in the car?”

She considered defiance. She considered being left on the side of the road her greatest act of rebellion against a man that had been too careless with her from the beginning. She considered risking death again just to prove a point to Seth. _Consider it a betrayal_.

He read pride on her face, that no matter what he was offering, it wasn’t worth biting down her temper, her self-respect, to get back into that damned jalopy and acting like he hadn’t just been complicit in her abandonment. In whatever what would come because he had metaphorically washed his hands of being her guardian, laughably or otherwise.

        “I’ll help you find Scott,” he said.

The green flint softened. Her mouth fell open in surprise. “Really? But what about—”

He turned away, hands latching around the wheel again. “Just get in the car.”

Kate glanced down the dimly lit road, as if a better solution lay in waiting just beyond the trees. The wind blew her hair free, and she tucked it back behind her ears. She nodded and popped the door.

He watched her out of the corner of his eye as she slid into the seat. The pace they had set over the past three months was gone. It was like she was taking up space next to him for the first time. All over again. Instead of a bright shiny new car and an inkling of hope glittering in the dusty horizon, it was the end of the rope. They were dangling and struggling to breathe. Kate had to physically turn her head to keep from being suffocated by the widening breach between them.

Seth threw the car into gear and sped forward, the image of an oasis suddenly so clear in his head, he was mentally kicking himself for not thinking of it sooner. The streetlights faded the further they drove into nothingness.

        “Where are we going?” Her voice was even, purposefully so. She didn’t want him to know of her inner turmoil, and that was fine with him.

        “To get some fucking reinforcements.”

* * *

When they pulled up to Eddie’s TV Repair shop, it was nearly five in the morning. She watched the building with apprehension as they rolled to a stop in one of the parking spots. Blue dawn was just peaking out over the far horizon. He had expected her to roll over and find some sleep as they barreled along open, orange highways in the middle of the night. But she didn’t. She stared forcefully ahead, and while eventually the darkness had set in rings around her eyes, and a bleary film had fallen over them, she did not close them once, except to blink. Defiance was her new safe word and the flint was sharper than ever.

She didn’t question him again about their destination, and even now, as they stumbled out of that godforsaken car, through the hazy confusion, she didn’t ask. Maybe it was acceptance that they were tied, like sinking rocks in an ocean, and whatever came next they would do it together.

_Or maybe she just wants to find her brother, you pervert_.

Seth knocked three times, paused, and twice more. A code Eddie, he, and Richie had set years ago. Every one who came through Eddie’s door had a code. Not an electric one, but he still knew when to greet guests with a shotgun or not.

When Eddie opened the door, he knew it would be one of the Gecko brothers, or maybe both. What he didn’t know was one of them would be covered in blood, accompanied by a young girl, clutching a thick basket in her hands, also covered in blood.

The old man, dressed in a loose red Hawaiian shirt and grey sweatpants, let out a low whistle. “Well, I’ll give it to you. This one, I haven’t seen before.”

        “Eddie, just let us in,” Seth snapped. Where he had been sleep-deprived a moment ago, with Kate this close to his shoulder, slightly swaying on her feet, he felt electrified. Dangerously so. Like one spark would set him ablaze.

Eddie narrowed his eyes at the man who was as much of his nephew as his son. He gestured to Seth’s face. “The blood, is it yours?”

Seth swallowed. “No.”

Eddie glanced to Kate, who was trying desperately to stay as still as possible. She thought of the gun in the bottom of the bag and vaguely wondered how many seconds she would lose trying to get to it.

        “Is it hers?” Kate looked up. The old man was still staring at her, but considerably less guarded than how he approached Seth. His blue eyes were strikingly gentle. Her mind flashed to the Mall Santa back in Bethel. He had blue eyes too.

        “No, sir, it isn’t mine. It’s . . . someone else’s.”

At that, Eddie of Eddie’s TV Repair chuckled, blue eyes twinkling. “Oh, ‘sir’, I like her.” He looked back at Seth, almost sad. “I don’t know what kinda shit you’ve gotten yourself and this little lady here into, but I reckon it don’t matter much when it comes to family.”

He stepped back from the doorway, pulling Seth into a hug across the threshold. “You’re such a fucking dumbass, it’s wonder sometimes you’re still alive.”

        “Just using what you taught me, old man.” Seth returned the hug, and Kate watched as three months of anxious despair evaporated from his shoulders. The two men walked back into the tiny shop and Kate hesitantly followed, arms still wrapped tightly around the bag.

Eddie immediately began pouring three drinks from a bottle set behind the counter. Seth drank his without a word and put it back down, ready to be served again. Eddie complied with only a raised bushy brow.

        “You gonna offer your lady here a drink?”

Seth spluttered on his second drink and Kate dropped her gaze, heat rising in her cheeks as much from his reaction as Eddie’s question.

        “She’s not my—,”

        “Ah.” Eddie sighed, picked up the third glasses and extended it towards her. “I’d say you earned this. Drink up.” His blue eyes were gentle, the softest things she’d seen in months. And it nearly made her cry, for some reason. But she stifled the thing rising in her chest and shook her head. Seth reached forward and helped himself to a third glass.

        “I’d actually just like some water.”

Eddie nodded. He reached under the counter again and took out a bottle of water. He was grinning slightly in a way that made her feel like the world outside this little shop was disappearing and maybe, just maybe, there was a person out there who could understand all this. Someone who could actually help her brace against this wicked and unjustly cruel reality she found herself in. Kate couldn’t help but smile back.

        “What’s the price?”

        “Just your name, sweet thing.” He reached out the bottle towards her and she took it. It was cold in her palms.

        “Kate.”

Eddie nodded gruffly. “Good name. Strong name. Don’t take no shit, kinda name.”

        “She certainly does _not_ do that,” Seth murmured into his nearly empty glass. Which number glass this was, he wasn’t sure.

Eddie hurled him a glare and poured what had been Kate’s drink into his. “So, Kate, any particular reason you’re not drinking tonight? Seems like the kinda thing most women do after spending time around this shit-for-brain . . . unless they can’t.”

His ending tone implied something and Kate felt the gears in her head spin trying to determine what he could possibly mean. Eddie’s glare on Seth hardened.

        “I always thought I told you to be safer than that—,”

Kate’s hand clenched as understanding knocked her with a two-by-four. Water erupted from the plastic bottle just as Seth’s glass slammed into the counter.

        “It’s not like that—,”

        “We’re not—,”

        “She’s not—,”

        “We’re _definitely_ not—,”

Eddie crossed his arms against their babbling. “Okay, then if this isn’t about unexpectedly expanding the Gecko line, then what the hell are you two doin’ here?”

They glanced at each other, words failing them for a second time that night. “Look, Uncle Eddie, we’re in trouble, but not _that_ kind of trouble—,”

        “ _Uncle?_ ” Kate’s mouth fell open, her tone accusatory. “This guy is your uncle?”

        “What kinda shit is this, Seth?” Eddie poked a finger at him. “You show up at the butt-crack of dawn, covered in blood, with a girl that’s way outta your league, and you don’t even tell her I raised your scrawny ass?”

Seth shook his head. “It’s a long story, Eddie, and I’ll get to it, but—,”

        “You’ll get to it?” His voice was rising. “Like I’m just a damn mute button you can press when you’re sick of hearing me squawk—,”

        “A job went wrong.” Her words were small but firm. The two men glanced at her. Her mouth was set in a hard line. She could feel the tired ache beginning to set in, trying to blur her vision, but she held fast against it. “We tried robbing a hair salon. We got the money but then . . . something attacked. It shot . . . my friend, right in front of us. It’s his blood on us.”

Her tone also implied more. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Seth look away.

        “Still doesn’t explain how . . . you two . . .”

Now that was a long story. Kate felt her mouth dry up under those gentle blue eyes. He wanted to understand. He wanted to help. Maybe after all of this, they were beyond help. Beyond saving.

        “We’re partners.”

She tore her gaze away to his nephew. His dark, sullen nephew that was using heroin to keep the demons fuzzy and in their corners, to dull their claws. His nephew who had put the car into reverse and went back for her. Told her to get in and drove. Drove them here, to something that could nearly pass for salvation. To church in the middle of hell. An oasis in the middle of the desert.

        “She’s my partner,” the dark nephew said.

* * *

        “Where’s Richie?”

It was an obvious question. Unless Richie had been turned into a tiny girl with flintlocks for eyes, there was a lot to be answered for. Seth set down his coffee and watched his uncle buttered his morning toast.

        “Dunno. We’ve separated.”

Eddie snorted and added a layer of raspberry jam. “How’s that working out for you?”       

        “Just fine.”

Eddie paused and glanced up. As a kid, Seth discovered he could spin a lie a mile long. Not with Eddie though. Because it wasn’t the anger that made him fess up, it was Eddie’s disappointment. Seth learned that family, whomever you choose to build the idea with, is above those who you lie to. But what happens when the truth contains snake monsters and mind labyrinths and betrayal from a brother?

        “I’m a patient man, Seth. I’ve been doing yoga in the back for years. Really opened my eyes to a lot of things. I highly recommend it.” Eddie put down his toast and stared at Seth that made him feel like an eleven year-old again. “But that is the biggest crock of bullshit I’ve ever heard. You slept for twelve hours. Whatever’s chasing you, it’s dragging you down. It’s gonna start nippin’ at your heels sooner or later.”

He thought of watching her small figure grow even smaller as he zoomed away on that dark street. He was already feeling it.

        “Richie’s been here, you know.” By the very smug way he bit into his delicately designed toast, Eddie knew exactly that he didn’t. Seth took another swig of coffee. “Showed up a couple of days ago, askin’ about some big players in the area. Didn’t think much of it. What I did notice was the absolutely breath-taking woman on his arm. And they weren’t covered in blood.”

Seth’s fingers tightened around the hot mug. “So, he’s gone? Good riddance. Needed him like a hole—,”

        “Was there someone else with them?”  

Seth’s growing anger at Richie’s return rushed out of him like billowing smoke when he saw Kate, standing in an old oversized repair uniform. It was made for a man twice her size and it kept falling off her shoulder, which she pulled at with sleeves that swallowed her hands. Her hair was muffled, sleep-strewn, but the green eyes had resumed their hardness. She was ready for day two.

Eddie was immediately off his feet and reduced the heat on the scrambled eggs. He patted the bacon dry, glancing over his shoulder.

        “Do you like coffee, Miss Kate?”

She nodded, a faint smile growing on her face. She was unguarded as she watched the old man flit around the kitchen making breakfast. Seth couldn’t help but stare. She never looked at him that way. With so much trust.

        “Seth, help her with her sleeves, would ya? Again, I apologize for giving you a workman’s uniform, Kate, while we washed your clothes.”

Kate glanced across the table and slowly extended her arm towards him, as if she feared he would tear it off randomly. She watched his guilt return, rimming his eyes, but he didn’t say anything. She would have forgiven him more if he said something. But now he could barely look at her. Before, it was like he didn’t want to. Now, it seemed he shouldn’t.

His fingers were nimble as he began to roll back her sleeves, one inch fold at a time. Eddie dropped a cup full of warm coffee in front of her and it managed to break their silence. His fingers brushed her forearm and she pulled away, quickly glancing to the floor.

        “Thanks,” she murmured and popped open a plastic cup of cream to pour into the black coffee.

Eddie returned with three plates, smelling of real food. He had barely sat down before the two partners in front of him began to wolf down breakfast.

        “I’m getting the feeling this is the first sit down meal you two’ve had in a while. Right?”

Kate slowed in her rapid consumption of bacon long enough to appear guilty while Seth just grunted and finished his coffee that burned the back of his throat.

Eddie let out a frustrated sigh. “To answer your question, Miss Kate, no. When I saw Richie and his gal, it was just the two of them. You looking for somebody? Or is somebody looking for you?”

        “I’m looking for my brother. Last time I saw him, he was still inside . . . the strip club. With Richard and Kisa.” Kate finished quickly and grabbed a hot roll to shove in her mouth.

        “You got her brother mixed into all of this?” Eddie rounded on Seth who, this time, didn’t flinch.

        “No,” he scowled. “That was his own damn choice.”

        “How dare you!” The spark that had been dampened somewhere between opening and closing the jalopy door suddenly ignited and Kate watched it happen behind his eyes too. “Carlos did that to him. It wasn’t his choice! He was _taken!_ He didn’t give himself up to that monster— like Richie did!”

Seth slammed his fork down. “Well, fuck Richard! That’s why I’m not stupid enough to think there’ll be anything left to find! Why the fuck do you think Scott even wants to see you, huh? He’s just going to leave, like everybody else!”

        “Like you did?” She arched an eyebrow.

Something inside of him snapped. “Goddamn it— I was so angry with you because I’m trying to protect you! Scott doesn’t want to see you, Richie doesn’t want to see me, we’re better off without them.” He snatched the cup off the table and nearly hurled it into the sink. “He doesn’t want you, Kate, and let me tell you, that shit hurts.”

Kate watched his silhouette illuminate in the morning light streaming in from the kitchen window. “You were trying to protect me? From Scott?”

Seth braced himself on either side of the sink and dropped his head. “I never said it was a good plan.”

Eddie glanced between the pair. He had known Seth his entire life and not once had he seen a girl burrow her way inside of him so deeply. From what he knew about Kate, he was pretty sure she had never known anyone like Seth Gecko. She was still watching him, mouth slightly agape.

        “Doesn’t that feel better?” Eddie leaned back, sipping from his still warm mug. “That’s it. I’m calling Richie. You people are having a sit down meal if it’s the last thing I do.”

* * *

Kate frowned at her reflection. Her hair was still damp from the shower in the guest bathroom, and her clothes had finished drying. She tried to button up her outer shirt, but it didn’t have the same affect as when Seth walked into a room in a black button down. She roughly ran a brush through her hair, again, scowling. Seth, and his stupid gestures. His stupid reasoning. His stupid—

There came a double knock at the door.

        “Miss Kate?” Eddie called through the thin wood. “Do you mind if I come in? I got something for you.”

When she opened the door, he held a rectangular box up under of his long, bony arms. He smiled again and the restlessness Seth left in her chest eased. She stepped back and he lumbered in, finding a spot by the edge of the bed.

        “Y’all got reservations at Brennan’s for six. I told Richie and his lady friend better be there or he best never darken my door again.”

Kate’s mouth dropped. She had heard of Brennan’s. It was an incredibly high-class restaurant chain based out of Houston. She glanced at her wrinkled shirt and ripped jeans.

        “Eddie,” she bit her lip and tucked her hair behind her ear. “Couldn’t we just have gone to KFC or something? I don’t think I’m exactly dressed for—,”

        “Nonsense.” He waved her worry away. “You don’t settle bad blood at a goddamn fried chicken shack. You settle them with wine and stakes and lovely ladies to keep ya grounded.”

He winked conspiratorially, and took the lid of the box in his hands. “My nephew is many things, and many things to many women, but I doubt he’s ever bought you anything real nice.”

Her cheeks burned, something rising in her throat. “I’m not— Seth and I— we aren’t like that. He doesn’t have to buy me anything.”

        “A pretty girl always deserves a pretty dress. And he’s an idiot if he doesn’t know that.”

He removed the lid and pulled back aged paper. Kate audibly gasped.

Eddie lifted a black cocktail dress out of the box and held it out in front. The sleeves were a dark lace, with a scooping neckline with a square back that nearly dipped below the bra line.

        “Now, before you start gettin’ any hinky ideas, this was the dress of an old gal of mine.” Eddie watched her face light up as he handed it to her. “Sheela was the stuff of legends. Wicked smart and a quick mouth to boot.” He chuckled, lost for a moment in ancient memories. “Plus she was gorgeous. That goes without saying. She filled out this dressed like a river fills out a canyon. She gave it to me as a thank you for all the good times, before the cancer got her.”

Kate reached forward and took his hand, squeezing gently. Those blue eyes looked up and she remembered what being around a father felt like.

        “And I want you to wear it tonight. At Brenann’s.”

Kate swallowed and looked at the dress in her hands. “Eddie, I can’t— the dress—,”

        “Of course, you can. Besides, I think Sheela would want a stellar gal like you to wear it. From one epic woman to another.”

Kate grinned, her throat tight. “Eddie, you hardly know me.”

        “Yeah, but I know you’re epic. And Seth is a bigger moron than I ever realized. But I take personal responsibility for that, ya know.” Eddie said gruffly. He gently patted her hand before keeping it there. Kate smiled sadly at the floor.

        “He’s hurting, Eddie. He needs . . . family.”

        “And what do you need, Kate? Has anybody asked you if you’re hurting?”

The raw sincerity in his voice pricked her eyes and she let go of him, clutching the dress in both hands.

        “Kate, if you want an out, I can get you away from here, in a heartbeat. Get you somewhere safe. Get you somewhere proper. Seth’s a good man, but he sometimes runs on the other side.”

Kate nodded, her tears unwilling to stay locked away any more. They spilled down her cheeks and she swiped at them furiously with the palm of her hand.

        “I know he’s a good man.” _Somewhere down there_.

        “He told me, about what happened in Mexico.”

Her breath hitched as she tried to gasp but the wetness clogged her throat. “So you know about culebras?”

Eddie nodded slowly. But he took out the handkerchief from his Hawaiian shirt pocket and offered it to her. She took it, embarrassment coloring her cheeks, and she wiped her eyes dry.

        “I know what your brother is . . . and I know what Richie is. Well, shit, I’ve never really known what Richie is but I love the dumb sucker like a son, and this doesn’t change much. But if he’s anything like what Seth says, well, then holidays just got a little tougher.”

He chuckled and even Kate had to laugh, had to release the tension in her chest because this comfort was something she had not felt in months. Seth tried but it’s hard to fill someone else’s holes when you were pouring out of your own.

Eddie shook his head before rolling to his feet. “I’ll leave you to get dressed.”

She caught his hand on the way out. She squeezed his hand again, finding warmth in his blue eyes again. “Thank you, Eddie. I can’t ever repay you.”

At that, the old man smiled. “Take care of Seth, and that’ll be payment enough.”

* * *

        “Why are you gettin’ all twitchy?”

Seth shook his sleeves down over his watch, forcing him to look at something else and not focus on the seconds before he had to face his traitorous brother again. “I’m not twitchy. It’s getting late. How long does it take to put on a fucking dress?”

Eddie rolled his eyes from behind the counter. He pulled out the drink glasses again, the bottle included. “I failed to impress upon you some of the finer things in life. One of which is appreciating the time your woman puts into looking nice.”

Seth glared. “She’s not _my_ woman.”

Eddie raised an eyebrow, pouring out a glass before handing it to Seth, who threw it back in an instant.

        “Yeah, because she’s got a good head on her shoulders, while yours is swerving dangerously close to falling off.” He watched his nephew brace his arms on each side of the glass counter, his dark head falling low. Eddie knew better than to pry too deep. The conversation earlier that day had dragged him raw and Eddie saw it. Seth was wired, exposed, and with every ticking second, his skin seemed to retreat farther away from his bones. Seth took the bottle and Eddie let him. “You’ve gotta forgive your brother, Seth. He’s family.”

        “You’re my family, Eddie,” Seth muttered. “That’s all I ever needed growing up. That’s all I need now.”

        “Bullshit.” The old man snapped. His nephew fingered the glass silently. “That’s bullshit and you know it.”

        “I don’t—,”

        “Hi, I’m so sorry if we’re running late.”

Her voice was breathless, and he turned, lowering his glass. Kate stood in the doorway of the attached apartment, sliding pearl earrings into her earlobes, and Seth felt his heart drop into his stomach.

The black dress hugged her curves, diving far too low on her chest than he thought should be allowed. Her brown waves were tied up in a half bun on the back of her head, the rest of her auburn hair dropping against her pale back. The heels tightened her calf muscles, bare legs running for miles. She licked her cherry red lips, eyes fluttering under a fan of black mascara. It took him a moment to realize she was pointedly staring at Eddie for approval.

Eddie whistled and sauntered over. He took her dainty hand and spun her once. Her hair fanned out, her cheeks red, and she giggled. Seth’s mouth went bone dry.

        “Katherine, wars would be started over you. You are simply divine.” He placed a gentle kiss on the top of her hand and she curtsied. “Doesn’t she look divine, Seth? Tell her she looks divine.”

Her giddiness collapsed in on itself as she looked across the room to Seth, who would have preferred to be swallowed up by the shadows in the corner than say what was on his mind. He cleared his throat and put down his glass.

        “You look . . . nice.”

Kate nodded in thanks, glancing away, a sharp point rising in her chest. Eddie scowled. He kissed her hand again and smiled at her.

        “Thought I gave him a bigger vocabulary than that.”

        “We’d better get going,” Seth murmured. He watched the seconds tick by on his watch because looking at her, watching her smile, her beautiful body shaped like a warning sign— it was agonizing. “If we want to get there on time.”

He saw her nod out of the corner of his eye. She leaned forward and pecked one of Eddie’s cheeks. “Thank you for the dress. It’s lovely.”

Eddie rubbed the back of his neck, grinning ear to ear. “Sheela would be proud.”

Outside it was raining. Seth took an umbrella from the pot beside the door before shutting it behind them. She was glancing up at the dark sky when Seth opened the giant black umbrella, and she huddled closer to him. She smelled of pomegranate, a new scent for her.

        “You do look incredible.” He said quietly. She blinked and looked at him in surprise. “Sorry I couldn’t say it before.”

She smiled hesitantly. As if he would take it back the moment she accepted the compliment. “You . . . smell nice.”

        “I did shower.”

He offered his elbow and slowly, she slid a tiny hand around his bicep. He kept the shiver to himself and settled instead for inhaling her scent as quietly as he could.

        “Let’s go, partner.”

* * *

Her stomach grumbled so she adjusted herself in her seat and tried as casually as possible to glance at Seth’s watch. But with a whip of his wrist, it disappeared from view. But the scowl on his face told her more than enough.

        “They’re late,” he growled.

        “It’s gotta be like, what, five minutes? They’ll show.”

        “This is just so fucking Richard can make an entrance,” Seth hissed. “So he can waltz in here, with that snake stripper on his arms, and all head will turn. He’s always been such a prick like that—,”

Kate reached forward and touched his arm. He froze. “Seth, it’s going to be fine. He’s going to be here.”

He was too still. As if he wanted to pull away but kept himself underneath her touch on purpose. “That’s what I’m worried about.”

At six o’ five on the dot, the chatty haze of the restaurant faded as a new couple walked in. The pair seemed to glide across the oak floor, heads raised, the embodiment of human perfection. Seth bit the inside of his mouth to keep the string of profanities locked in his head. Kate was more easily swayed: her mouth dropped open at the sight of Kisa in her red elegance. She absolutely earned the title of _La Diosa_.

        “Richard.”

        “Seth.” They stood like giants and Seth straightened in his chair. The dark eyes behind the thickly walled glasses slid away from his brother to Kate. “Aren’t you going to introduce me to—,”

Divinity tumbled from Richie’s poised face as he blinked, shocked. “Kate? Is that you?”

She grinned uneasily. “Hi, Richie. Crazy what a good scrubbing can do.”

Next to him, a perfect line creased in the middle of Kisa’s forehead as she too glanced at the young woman next to Seth. Her eyes regained their steeled composure but it was clear she was surprised to have such an appearance. Her dark wave of hair fell in front of her face as she turned her sharply angled head towards Richie’s ear. She muttered something rapidly, then he shook his head.

        “It’ll be fine. This doesn’t change anything.”

The pair unfolded themselves into the two chairs across from Kate and Seth, like two winged birds settling down after a flight around the room. Seth waved at a waiter with two fingers and he appeared.

        “Drinks?”

        “Scotch.” The boys spoke at the same time and immediately looked away.

        “A dark red,” Kisa replied, without looking up from the menu. Kate swallowed the dry lump in her throat. She suddenly felt like a small child who had tumbled out of her mother’s closet with make-up smeared all over her face. She glanced at Seth. He hadn’t looked at Kisa once.

Kate smiled to the waiter, who looked slightly petrified. “Same, for me, please.”

At her voice, Seth did look up, his gaze soft for the first time all night. She thought about reaching across the chair to his hand and squeezing it tight, but all actions had their consequences. And the way he stared at her bare throat, she knew this consequence would be too great.

* * *

        “So what did you want with Eddie?”

The first half of the meal passed in silence, for which Kate was grateful because it allowed a happy consumption of the delicious meal. Lamb and potatoes with autumn squash soup. She ate slowly only because she dared not spill a drop on the velvet dress.

Seth was finished and drinking another glass. He glared at his brother, who took the napkin from over his tie and wiped his mouth of his very rare steak.

        “He has details about a sex ring that we need to get a in on.”

Seth scoffed. “A sex ring? Starting a flesh trade all your own? You and little miss snake dancer over there?”

Richie’s mouth twitched. “I knew you wouldn’t understand. You never do. You never take the time to even try—,”

        “I’m going after the man who held me prisoner for five hundred years.” Kisa’s voice cut through Richie’s like a hot knife. She was glaring at Seth, her full lips pursed. “Richard has a lead and it begins with one of the local trades. _Tu tío_ had information on the leader’s location and schedule.” She shook her head and took another sip of red wine. “ _Niños_. . .”

        “What are you going to do to him?” Kate suddenly questioned. All three sets of eyes fell on her and she raised her head to meet Kisa’s gaze straight on. The goddess twirled the stem in between her long fingers.

        “I’m going to kill him. Slowly. Like _el puto_  he is.”

Kate swallowed. She felt Richie’s eyes heavy on her.

        “What is she even doing here, Seth?” He rounded on his older brother, who suddenly looked uncomfortable. “Kate didn’t need to come. We could have settled this—,”

        “I’m here because I want to be,” Kate interjected firmly. “Eddie knows you two need to make up, just like I do.”

Richie’s eyebrows rose up into his hairline. “Oh, so you know what Uncle Eddie wants, that’s great—,”

        “You shut your goddamn mouth, Richard,” Seth hissed in such a thick voice Richie leaned back in his chair. “She’s been with me thick and thin these past couple of months, so you need to shut your mouth about shit you don’t understand.”

        “About shit _I_ don’t understand? Really? Then go for it. Explain it to me.”

Seth knocked back the last of his drink with such force Kate felt compelled to stop him.

        “Seth—,”

        “She’s a better partner than you ever were.” Richie blinked. “She’s smarter, faster, quicker than anyone I’ve ever worked with. She’s a natural.”

        “A natural criminal?” It was a challenge.

Seth’s jaw clenched.

        “Richard, do you know where my brother is?” Kate had to speak, to offset the expansion in her chest. Below the table, her hands was shaking and she wished she and Seth were alone. She wanted to grab him by the shoulders and shake him furiously and demand to know what was the truth. Because if even a fraction of that was true, everything she thought she knew would have to be reexamined. Everything about Seth.

Richie looked at her like she suddenly sprouted up from the ground.

        “Scott?”

        “Yes, Scott, my brother. The culebra.”

        “He was last seen with Carlos,” Kisa said quietly, glancing at Richard, who was staring at Kate, almost frightened. “They left after we did. I haven’t heard of him since.”

        “You have no idea where he is?” Kate’s voice was small in this giant, glittering place, full of beautiful people and a girl, separate from the rest, who felt exposed and hollow, like a tree wilting on the verge of winter. Her heart pinched painfully.

        “I’m sorry, Kate, I don’t.” Something like real concern edged Richie’s wide eyes and the sharpness in her throat became unbearable.

Kate suddenly stood, the white chair slid back abruptly. To her great surprise, Seth rose too. The look on the edge of her gaze was blurred but with the sudden snap in tension, she wondered if it was best that she did not look.

        “Kisa, I hope you get your vengeance. I really do.” Kate fingered the hem of her skirt. If she started to cry here, she’d never forgive herself. “But I’ve got to go. Richie, thanks.”

Her voice wavered and with that, she turned on her elegant satin heel, Eddie’s other gift, and stalked out of the restaurant. A waiter called out, but the tears were already stinging her eyes. She pushed open the door into a cold rain, the sudden chill like a slap to her cheeks. She suddenly realized that she hadn’t paused to wait for Seth, the one with the keys and the umbrella. The dampness set in and from the base of her spine, a shiver unfurled and wracked her body. She pushed her soggy hair from her eyes and glanced up into the crackling sky. Thunder rumbled and heavy clouds glittered purple.

Suddenly, she felt a weight on her shoulders and she turned to see Seth put his outer coat around her. He popped open the umbrella and drew it over them both. He shook the water from his hair with his free hand.

The inside of the jacket was still warm. It smelled like his aftershave.

        “Seth.” Her voice wavered again, but this time from her body adjusting to the cold. She had to speak above the rain. He tossed the keys to the young valet and he ran out into the darkness. “I know you didn’t mean what you said back there, about me being a natural, but thanks.”

        “What makes you think I didn’t mean it?” He was purposefully being gruff, his hands deep in his pockets.

        “Did you?”

She looked at him with her mascara smeared and her lips a bright pink, the redness left on the rim of her wine glass. Once before, in a drunk haze, he considered kissing her, and now he thought about it again. But he held fast and nodded once.

        “You’ve kept my shit together, in more ways than one, Kate. I never thanked you for that.”

        “You don’t have to.”

She took his hand out from his pocket and put it around her waist and let her forehead drop onto his shoulder. She felt him stiffen but he didn’t pull away.

        “Thank you for coming back for me.”

His hand relaxed against her hip, thumb brushing up on her ribs, and he turned his head, his lips ghosting her forehead.

        “And deprive Uncle Eddie from seeing you in that dress? I’d never.”

She lifted her head as their car pulled up on the doorstep. “Will you still help me find Scott?”

Seth nodded. “A deal’s a deal.”

* * *

When they pulled away from Eddie’s TV Repair shop, their backseat loaded with sandwiches, two six packs of beer and cola, and enough money to fund just about any investigative search, Kate waved to the old man himself from the passenger’s seat. His blue eyes twinkled again as he watched them drive away into the morning light.

        “He really liked you, you know?” Seth said quietly beside her after they exited onto the highway.

_Seth’s a good man_. She glanced over at her partner, who looked lighter than he had been in months. She adjusted the sunglasses over her nose and stared into the dawning Texan morning.

        “I figured I was just an excuse for him to drop off all these dresses.”

Grinning, she smoothed the white cotton on her thighs, and tucked her feet up under her on the seat.

        “So, where to, Princess?”

Kate turned to smile at him and found he had beaten her to it. His edge was gone. This was a new Seth Gecko, a different one. One that perhaps he was too tired of hiding from her.

        “Bethel, Texas.” She leaned forward and rubbed the back of his hand sitting on the stick shift with her thumb. “Take me home, Seth.”

  


**Author's Note:**

> tumblr: youbecool
> 
> would love to talk sk any time with y'all!


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